Dr. Valerie Daniels-Carter

Dr. Valerie Daniels-Carter is President and CEO of V&J Foods, Holding Companies, Inc. (V&J Holdings) which was started in 1982 with her brother Attorney John W. Daniels, Jr. as her only investor. V&J Holdings is a multi-brand/multi-state quick-service restaurant enterprise that also operates real estate and corporate venture businesses. During a 16-year development time frame, Daniels-Carter built a restaurant empire, growing V&J from one (1) restaurant to 132 locations in eight (8) states and employing over 4,500 individuals. Prior to establishing V&J Holding Companies, Inc., Daniels-Carter worked as a retail and commercial lender for First Wisconsin National Bank (now US Bank) and a financial underwriter for MGIC
Corporation.

 

Valerie Daniels-Carter graduated from Lincoln University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. She then earned a Master’s Degree in Business Management from Cardinal Stritch University. Dr. Daniels-Carter received an Honorary Doctors of Humane Letter from Cardinal Stritch University in 2008 and Lincoln University 2016. Yet again in 2024, she was honored with an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Philander Smith University.

In 2019, Dr. Daniels-Carter was inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame at Morehouse College joining an elite group of successful African Americans. In 2023, she was crowned in the United Sates, the first Diaspora Queen 1 by King Nyaho Tamakloe VI of Ghana.

 

Dr. Daniels-Carter is one of the most preeminent business leaders in the United States. She is a visionary who consistently inspires other leaders. She is resolute in her commitment to excellence and innovative strategies. Her ability to motivate others not only fuels their professional growth but ignites a drive in them to achieve success. Her leadership style is transformational. She is an astute businesswoman – an achievement that bespeaks to her unyielding belief and connection to God coupled with her unwavering allegiance to integrity, distinction, and hard work.

In addition to auspiciously commandeering a multi-national business, Dr. Daniels-Carter is widely recognized for her adroit business ingenuity. As such, she has befittingly been appointed to and chaired an array of boards spanning a multifarious arc of civic, corporate, and non-profit organizations. In the spring of 2017, Automobile Association of America (AAA) appointed her as the First African American Female Chair, believing in her abilities to drive the association to improved platforms. Dr. Daniels-Carter is currently a board member of the NFL Green Bay Packers and is the female minority owner of the 2021 NBA Champions, the Milwaukee Bucks Basketball Team.

Throughout the years, Dr. Daniels-Carter has received numerous awards and accolades. In 2024, she was recognized by National Action Network as an innovator and trailblazer. She has been recognized by Essence Magazine as one of “the 50 Most Inspiring ”African Americans in the United States. In 2023 she was awarded the “Masked Award” by UNCF for her commitment to education. In 2022, the National Basketball Association honored her during the All-star weekend and awarded her the “Slam Dunk Game Changer” Award. In 2021, during the 40th Anniversary of the Governor’s Conference of Wisconsin - Dr. Daniels-Carter was awarded the “Distinguished Business Leader” Award; Also, Black Enterprise Magazine honored her in their “50th Anniversary Edition” and in 2020 awarded Dr. Daniels-Carter the “Legacy Award” and included her as being a part of “the 50 Most Inspiring Women” in Business. She has also been featured in Milwaukee Magazine in honor of Women’s Month and Biz Times Media granted her the “Bravo Entrepreneur Award of Lifetime Achievement”. The List is extensive and as mentioned above, over the past 35 years, Dr. Daniels-Carter has been acknowledged by major companies and organizations across this country.

 

Dr. Daniels-Carter is an outstanding life coach and a generous humanitarian. Her business accomplishments have allowed her to build the necessary pillars that support her philanthropic efforts. This CEO stays grounded by engaging in local and international philanthropic projects. She has been the catalyst to many causes, several which included hosting multiple health and wellness days in small African villages, the construction of a medical facility and development of three educational facilities and two “state of the art” water wells in Kenya, East Africa. She created an initiative in conjunction with the Minority Franchise Association to build an orphanage in Kenya, Africa at Jubilee Orphanage Center. She along with her Kenya East Africa team built the first COGIC Medical Clinic in Bondo, Kenya. Additionally, they created the Empowerment Initiative for Africa, Inc. organization which initiated 12 women in the start of their own businesses to becoming self – sufficient. Within six (6) years, the Initiative has now seeded capital for an astoundingly 2,800 businesses initiated in Africa. Her international work does not stop there. In Ghana, West Africa, Dr. Daniels- Carter leased 99 acres of land to allow farmers in a blighted community to become successful farmers by installing operational irrigation systems. Locally, Dr. Daniels-Carter supports several organizations and is instrumental in the development of numerous facilities, such as a Boys and Girls Club, a Family Service Center, three schools, and a Credit Union and loan center on a street named after her esteemed mother, Kathryn Daniels. In addition, on this street “Mother Daniels Way,” one will find Community Meeting facilities and a Youth Center constructed and developed in memory of her mother and husband, Jeffrey Carter, Sr. She is the lead supporter for the Institute for the Preservation of African American Music and Arts (IPAMA) a vision of her late brother – Bishop Sedgwick Daniels. To bring tranquility and serenity to her life, Dr. Daniels-Carter can be found in her local church on Sunday mornings, singing hymns and spiritual songs, some in which she has authored.

 

Dr. Valerie Daniels-Carter is a devoted mother, a motivational speaker, a generous philanthropist, and a flourishing author. Her entrepreneurial aptitude inspired her to author, a booklet “The Journey of A Winner”, and three books - “From Pandemic To Promise”, “Your Business Is His Business” and “Anointed Offering or Tainted Sacrifice”. She attributes her success to her relationship with God, her family, committed employees and true friends. She is a national exemplar, but more importantly, she is a touchable woman.